Broken Toys Need Not Apply
by Emery3842
Summary: Alec should have guessed that his day was going to go downhill from the moment Normal started singing. How was he supposed to get them out alive, if he could barely keep himself standing? AU to the siege at Jam Pony during Freak Nation. Light Alec/Max.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone! I am working on getting an alternative ending up for Desperately Wanted, but this little plot bunny popped into my head when I was sitting at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office with a killer headache (I am in the process of getting a visa for the UK). Since I was already planning on doing some writing and having a long wait ahead of me, this is what came out. This is my first jump into Dark Angel and I am not sure how I feel about it. I am definitely not as comfortable with these characters as I am with other fandoms, so let me know what you think!

Btw, it is going to be two chapters (maybe three, I am still reworking the second half).

Enjoy!

* * *

Alec chalked the slight pain behind his eyes to Normal's singing for his not-birthday. Honestly, he didn't know when his birthday was; it wasn't like Manticore broke out the cake and candles for them growing up. But, it was cake, so he would take it where he could get it. Whipping out one of his pocket knifes, Alec cut into it and plopped a piece onto Sketchy's eagerly outstretched hand. He tuned into O.C.'s and Normal's conversation long enough to send out a playful comment about Normal's intelligence, but was surprised as he spoke to feel another painful twinge behind his eyes. Sending Sketchy a tight smile as he asked for more cake, Alec pushed the whole cake into his friend's hands and grabbed a package off the counter.

"Hey, Normal," Alec informed his boss as he walked towards the door, "I'm gonna get started on delivering some packages."

"You don't need to do that," Normal insisted, trying to coax his golden boy back towards the desk. "It's your birthday!"

"Nah, I've got it," Alec assured, hopping on his bike. "Thanks for the cake though."

Unconsciously tightening his grip on the handlebars, Alec road out of Jam Pony, intent on going back to his apartment in order to figure out what was wrong with him. X5s didn't get sick, he hadn't been in any fights, and he hadn't drank a liquor store lately...he shouldn't have a headache. All of his plans were thrown out the window though when he nearly ran into Joshua and Mole...and a pregnant woman?

"Alec, I'm so glad to see you," Joshua said eagerly.

"Uh huh," Alec responded in confusion.

"This is Gem, she's having a baby," Joshua explained rapidly.

"Oh, so naturally you thought of stopping by Jam Pony in broad daylight," Alec replied sarcastically.

"Max said to come see you and and..."

Alec blinked rapidly as Joshua tried to explain what in the hell he was doing out in public. He knew that he needed to get them hidden before too many people started to notice the transhumans, but it felt like someone had taken a hot poker and was stabbing it into his eyes. The time to plan was up when police pulled up to block the road.

For the first time in a while, Alec silently thanked his Manticore training that allowed him to push the pain away in order to focus on getting them all out of there alive.

* * *

Leaning his head against the pillar as he handed Dalton a knife, Alec cursed his Manticore training. Fat lot of good it did him. Ignoring the hateful and distrustful looks from those that a mere hour ago would have loved to get a drink and joke around with him, Alec rolled his eyes to the ceiling as Dalton pressed the knife into his shoulder.

"Easy kid, the ladies won't find me as attractive if I can only use one arm," he joked lightly. Dalton had been handling himself well, but he was young. Alec could tell that the kid really did not want to be digging a bullet out of his shoulder at the moment, he could feel the tension radiating off of him.

Dalton didn't respond, but Alec heard and felt him take a slightly deeper breath and his hands steadied a bit.

Alec had thought of asking Max to get the bullet out, but he needed her to take stock of the situation and see if there was anyway out of this that didn't end in a bloodbath. Also, bullet wound aside, he felt like crap and he didn't think he had it in him to listen to her hurl accusations of his screw ups at him. He was so busy trying to think through his headache that he didn't notice Dalton had stopped his work.

"I don't think I should be the one doing this," Dalton hastily told him. "I think I'm damaging some nerves."

Following Dalton's line of sight, Alec quickly clamped his fist closed, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. "Nah, kid. You're doing fine, it's just a bit of shock."

"X5s go into shock?" Dalton asked in disbelief, one of his eyebrows shooting up.

"Sure," Alec informed him, gesturing with his other hand for Dalton to continue working on his shoulder. He waited for Dalton to get back to work before biting the inside of his cheek in anger and a bit of worry.

This could not be happening.

He felt another stab of pain behind his eyes before his hand clenched tighter on its own accord.

Trapped in Jam Pony, surrounded by cops, probably White, a city that hated them, a room full of people who distrusted and despised them, and his body was turning on him?

So much for being a super soldier.

After another minute, Dalton finally worked the bullet out, handed Alec back his knife and grabbed some gauze. Dalton was almost done wrapping him up when Max graced them with her presence.

"What's that?" She asked with mild curiosity.

"It's a hole in my body made by a bullet," Alec responded nonchalantly. Honestly, the bullet hole was the least of his concerns at the moment, but he really didn't want to let on that he was even more incapacitated than he appeared...or at least he would be soon.

"Been there, done that," Max brushed him off briskly with a wave of her hand. "Check the news."

"Uh," Alec lightly groaned as he rolled off of the pillar.

Check the news? Check the tranny-hating news? '_Grrreat idea, Max_', Alec thought as the hateful words from ignorant asses echoed around the room. The tension when Scott had decided to go to the bathroom had been defused for the moment, but the news broadcasts were once again causing their former co-workers to mumble among themselves. They started off quietly, but the downside to being a genetically empowered super soldier? Sometimes you heard things that you wish you didn't.

"They're mutants. Freaks," whispered one girl who just the other day had nearly thrown herself at him. "I hope they get what's coming to them."

"They shouldn't be allowed to walk free, they should be locked up," argued a guy who he had gotten a beer with the night before.

Dalton had been sent back upstairs to keep lookout, and hopefully be spared some of the disparaging comments.

"They're dangerous, who the hell would create monsters like them?" asked someone who Alec had convinced Normal to give a job to.

"Do you think they are like normal people?"

"No, they were created, like lab experiments. There is nothing human about them, they are just designed to look like us."

Alec sat with his back against the lockers, hidden from sight. The tremors that occasionally wracked his body were getting harder to hide. No longer was just his hand seizing up, but his whole arm, and sometimes the tremor would slide through his entire body, trying to drop him to the floor. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to hide them from everyone, but he knew that if he succumbed to them, then their chances of making it out would diminish greatly.

There was another reason besides the tremors that had him seeking refuge behind the lockers. It hurt. Seeing people who he had laughed with, people who genuinely liked him, turn on him because of something that he couldn't prevent even if he tried. But, he couldn't hide out there forever.

Feeling fairly certain that he had a little while before the next one hit, Alec pulled himself off of the grimy floor and made his reappearance.

"What were you doing back there?" Max asked him suspiciously.

"I had to grab something out of my locker," he supplied smoothly, not wanting to add to the stressful atmosphere.

"What was it?" Max hounded him, looking for something in his hands.

"I just needed a quick drink," Alec told her, pulling a flask out of his back pocket. And wasn't that the truth. Not the actual drinking part, but the part about him needing it. He knew that if Max noticed his absence, then she would ask him about it; therefore, he had grabbed his flask out of his locker so he would have something to show her.

"Are you serious?" She hissed at him, invading his space. "We are in the middle of a standoff and you are _drinking?_"

"Just staying loose, we probably aren't going to make it out of this anyways, might as well enjoy ourselves," Alec replied, knowing that the best way to get her to leave him alone was to make her disgusted with him.

Mission accomplished, he thought as Max shook her head at him and turned to walk over to Joshua.

Another hour later and tensions were even higher. If the police didn't storm in, their hostages might attack on their own. No longer bothering with the whispering, they were openly expressing their disgust for the transgenics and transhumans. At first, the Manticore alum ignored the insults that were flung their way, after all, the news and general populous had been doing it for months. Hell, Normal had been doing it around Jam Pony with vigor. But...that was before everyone knew what they were. For some reason, it made a difference now that they knew. Perhaps some naive part of them thought that because they worked with them, hung out with them, sometimes called them friends, that once their co-workers found out, they wouldn't be as hostile.

They were wrong.

Everyone was told to hate them, to fear them. They weren't human, they were wolves in sheep's clothing, ready to rip them apart the moment they let their guards down.

But, _**they**_ were wrong.

Transhuman, transgenic, human...it didn't matter. The desire for acceptance, the yearning for companionship, the ache of pain at feeling lost and alone...it was the same for all of them.

It was these feelings that drove Max to seek out the comfort of another transgenic. Joshua was upstairs with Dalton, Gem was currently getting a small break as she dozed lightly, Mole was guarding the back (not that she would want to spend time with him anyways) and CeCe was at the front, which left only one option. She found Alec leaning up against the front counter and she could almost hear Normal yelling, "bip, bip, bip!"

Turning around, Max let her body fall against the counter next to Alec, noticing offhandedly that he didn't send her a cheeky comment, or smirk, or acknowledge her arrival in any way. Thinking that he must be stressed due to their current situation, Max didn't worry about it. "I think I could use a drink right about now," she threw out as an olive branch, needing anyone in her corner she could get.

Alec knew he should respond, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what would be a normal response from him. He hurt. Everywhere. Every muscle was on fire and it was all he could do to keep from collapsing on the floor and letting the seizures take him. He had already raided the staff frig for milk, there was none. He broke into Max's locker to see if she had any pills, none. He was down to praying to a god he didn't think existed to get them the hell out of this mess before he collapsed on the floor and became another problem that had to be dealt with. Give him another hour or two and he wouldn't even be able to pray.

Max frowned as Alec let a perfect opportunity to tease her go. Looking closer at him, she grew more concerned as she took note of his glazed-over eyes, the grey pallor of his skin, the slight sheen of sweat that had broken across his forehead. Now that she was looking, he wasn't casually leaning against the counter, but was rigidly holding himself there.

"Alec," she tried, trying to squash down her growing concern. "Alec," she said again, this time a little louder, annoyed at the concern that was creeping into her voice. She almost sighed in relief as he shook himself out of his stupor and whipped his head around to look at her.

"Are you okay?" She questioned, keeping her voice down so that the Ordinaries could not hear her.

Alec focused intently on her words and broke through the pain long enough to reassure her, "I'm fine, but if you want to kiss me better, I wouldn't stop you." He even managed to add a small smirk.

Max narrowed her eyes, trying to figure him out, but whatever, he was probably just milking his injury for sympathy. _You don't really believe that._ Max ignored her inner voice and huffed at him. "I just don't want you messing anything up."

Alec nodded in agreement, he didn't want to mess this up either. "I won't," he promised.

A painful cry tore through the room as Gem woke up to another contraction. Max pushed herself off of the counter and away from Alec and made her way over.

"How's she doin'?" she asked O.C.

"Girl's havin' a baby. Soon," O.C. informed her grimly.

Max's response was cut off when she heard a sickeningly sweet voice coming out of the TV.

"Oh, there's no point in discussing human rights since they're not humans. So, they don't have rights, they don't even have souls and it's worse than that because animals don't have souls, but they were meant to be here. These things were never even intended by god to exist. They are an insult to every thing in his creation."

"That's right!" Someone in the room shouted.

"Yeah!" Seconded another voice.

Max looked around in panic as the room took up the call. This was getting out of control, fast. Giving Gem's hand a quick squeeze, Max stood up and hopped on to a table.

"Hey!" She shouted. "Listen up!"

Someone threw a bottle that was lying around and she heard Mole send a round into his shotgun. Throwing up a hand to halt him, Max tried again. "Everyone shut up!"

No such luck, the police probably thought they were in here beating people with the way they were screaming at her.

"Just listen to her!" Alec's voice cut through them. One by one, people began to quiet and Max sent a silent thanks to Alec. Even when they hated him, people still responded to him. There were times that his ability to charm and connect to people was a blessing. However, despite his help, he was not looking too good. When this was over, she was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was up with him.

"We aren't monsters, we're your friends, I've worked with some of you for years. You've been workin' with Alec. We've hung out, bitched about Normal, survived the day to day boredom of working here."

Max ignored Normal's indignant shout.

"Where we come from doesn't change any of that. Yeah, so we aren't exactly like you, but that doesn't mean we're evil."

"You're holdin' us hostage, I don't think that makes you good!" Someone cried out.

Max nodded, "We don't want to do this, we just want to be left alone, allowed to live normal lives."

"You'll never be normal," Normal claimed. "You were designed by scientists, not created naturally, you might as well have freaking superpowers...it's too dangerous to let you live with us!"

Max's jaw tightened angrily. "It wasn't our fault! We didn't choose this life!"

Alec tried to focus on the words being exchanged, but his last shout for the crowd to listen had zapped all of his energy. The images he was receiving kept flashing between bright white and angry mob...he didn't know which one he preferred. As the flashing sped up, he was vaguely aware that his body was winning the battle.

"It was all we knew from the time we were born," Max chanced a look at Alec, he should be the one giving this speech, people liked him, he knew exactly what to say to get them to trust him. "We just..." Max's words came out slower as she took in Alec's tightened muscles. "We just..." she repeated as her brain tried to catch up to what she was seeing. "...wanted...to..."

Everyone watched in confusion as Max seemingly lost the ability to speak.

O.C. had been just as confused as to why Max was falling apart up there when she noticed that Boo kept lookin' at her boy. Glancing up, O.C. noticed that Hot Boy was not looking so hot at the moment. Giving a quick check to make sure that Gem was good, O.C. stood up and was making her way over to Alec when he finally gave up the battle to remain upright and let his body collapse to the floor.

Max watched as Alec's body crumbled beneath him and he smacked into the ground with a loud thud. "Alec," she breathed out, jumping off the table and running over to him, everyone's eyes following her.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! There will be one more chapter after this. Enjoy and I hope this fulfills your expectations.

* * *

Max practically flung herself to the floor next to Alec, reaching him seconds before O.C., despite her head start. Max ignored everybody as she lifted Alec's head into her lap and ordered without looking up, "O.C., see if you can find any milk."

O.C. immediately shot towards the 'staff room' which was really no more than a closet with a frig.

"Nu...un..." Alec bit out through clenched teeth as his body made him pay for holding off the seizures for so long. "Al...ready lo..ok..ed."

His claims were confirmed when O.C. came back empty handed with a panicked look on her face. "Boo, there's none in there."

"CeCe," Max called to the transgenic, not willing to give up yet, "do you have any tryptophan?"

CeCe shook her head, her face showing her concern. "I don't, I've never had seizures before."

"Damn it," Max shouted to no one in particular.

Alec tried to suppress a pained moan as a particularly violent spasm worked its way through his body, but it hurt too damn much. That one and the one after it and the one after that.

The group that had moments ago been yelling that they were nothing more than animals watched as Max used one hand to run her fingers through Alec's hair and the other to attempt to hold him down and prevent him from doing too much damage to himself.

"Alright, enough gawking!" Mole growled as he approached the crowd surrounding the two transgenics. Joshua had come down when he heard Alec fall, but O.C. had assured him that Alec would be fine. Mole had then put Joshua on watch and went to work getting everything back under control. "You lot, sit down and be quiet! If I hear one peep out of you, I'll shoot you myself!"

Not wanting to piss of the lizard-man more than he seemed to be permanently, everyone but O.C. and Sketchy made their way back towards the couches.

"Hey, uh...Max..." Sketchy started hesitantly. "Is there anything I can uh...do to help?"

"AHH!" Alec shouted as it felt like his muscles were ripping from his bones. His eyes shut tight against the world, he wished that he would just pass out and wake up when this was over. He had experienced a couple of low-level seizures before, but once Manticore realized what was causing them, they were given the necessary vitamins to keep them at bay. This was nothing like those, this was comparable to a day spent undergoing reindoctrination.

Max continued to run her hands through Alec's hair trying to get him to relax. She knew it was difficult, but without tryptophan, one of the best ways to get through the seizures was to let your muscles relax. The more they tightened, the more it hurt.

Sketchy shifted, reminding Max that he was still there. She was about to send a biting remark at him, hurt that he hadn't stood up for them, but the look on his face made her hesitate. Giving in, she jerked her head towards the water fountain. "Get some water."

Sketchy didn't hesitate to jump up and start looking for a water bottle.

"Boo," O.C. said quietly, resting a hand on her girl and a hand on her boy's shoulder. "How bad is this?"

Max's clenched jaw was all O.C. needed to know. Standing up she got to work gathering as many jackets and pieces of clothing that were laying around as she could. "Can we move him?" She asked once her arms were full.

Max didn't know the answer to her question, so she tried to get Alec's opinion. "Alec," she asked but got no response. She gently tried to lift his upper half; this time, she got a response that she was sure about in the form of Alec's pained whimper and then shout as his body protested the movement.

After shaking her head at O.C., Max felt a moment of complete affection for her friend as O.C. began to slowly slide the clothing she had found underneath Alec in order to provide some padding for him.

* * *

The darkening sky caused the shadows in Jam Pony to stretch out, trying to capture the rooms occupants in its tendrils. The siege had gone on far longer than anyone had expected. The police were hesitant to move in and the transgenics didn't want to push them to react. Some of the Jam Pony workers yawned sleepily, lounging against the walls or on the couches. After the initial adrenaline rush, they were crashing as the day gave way to the night.

When Alec had collapsed, the whispers had spread through the room like wildfire. They may hate transgenics, but there was something about watching someone they knew, someone who was always smiling and joking around, fall on the ground and twist in agony.

"I thought they were nearly invincible," someone parroted an earlier newscaster.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Do you think this is just a ploy to get us to feel sorry for them?"

Finally, Max couldn't take it anymore and began to send glares at anyone who opened their mouth. She knew what having seizures felt like. They had been taught that they were soldiers, that pain was weakness, a weakness that could get them and their unit killed. There was also an innate fear of the seizures; they could all remember watching members of their unit falling victim to them and being promptly hauled away...most they never saw again. Everything combined to create a sense of vulnerability that they were unused to feeling. The last thing Alec needed was a bunch of people judging him, dissecting him, as he went through them.

She had hoped that this would be a mild case and he would be back to normal after just a little while, but when was she ever that lucky? For the past three hours, Alec had drifted between lucid and unconscious, and everywhere in between. About twenty minutes ago he had even started babbling as his eyelashes fluttered against his cheekbones.

It was now almost completely dark inside of the messenger service, minus the floodlights that the police had pointed towards the windows. There had been no more contact between the two groups, the police attempting to formulate a plan and wait them out. By that point, Max just wanted them to call so she could try to get some milk.

"I'm sorry!" The entire room jumped as Alec's terror filled cry broke through the silence. "They'll go away! Please...don't put me with the nomalies!" All of the Manticore alums paled as they realized exactly what Alec was experiencing in his pain-induced nightmare, each of them picturing someone they knew being hauled away by scientists in white coats.

"Shh..." Max soothed again, feeling oddly protective of him as his muscles clenched tightly and his body convulsed. She hadn't noticed it before, but she had come to rely on Alec's quirks to keep her going. He had the ability to make even the worst situation better through a stupid comment, a silly grin, just being him. And, despite how she always claimed he was a screw-up, she knew that she could always count on him to have her back. But, this seizure solidified what she knew all along, he was just as broken as the rest of them, he was just better at hiding it. He needed someone to be there for him as much as she did.

Alec calmed slightly under her, but it didn't last for long as he jumped into another haze-filled memory. "No, Rachel!" He let out a primordial yell, then whimpered and whispered, "I'm X5-494." He tossed and repeated louder, "I'm X5-494, I will follow orders. I'm X5-494."

Max swallowed hard as she realized he was reliving his reindoctrination after Rachel. She felt completely useless. For all the genetic manipulation and training she had, there was nothing she could do to help Alec get through this. So, when she noticed Normal staring at them, she leveled him with the most vicious glare she could muster, "What?" She growled at him, finding it easier to be hostile towards the Ordinary, rather than examining the feelings that Alec was bringing up.

Normal glanced around nervously. He couldn't believe that he was still alive; after all the things he had said about transgenics, he figured he would be the first to go. He knew he shouldn't push his luck, but he couldn't help staring at his former golden boy and missy miss. It was like he was looking at two different people. Missy miss was actually being...soft? Well, not towards everyone, but towards Alec, which was even more surprising. With the way she had always been prepared with a condemning look or slap upside the head, the last person he thought she could be gentle with would be his boy.

His boy. His beautiful golden boy. He could admit in his mind that he had just a bit of admiration for the young man. He really was a fine specimen. Really, the majority of that admiration came from Normal seeing in Alec what he wished he could see in himself. Strong, handsome, a personality that people just gravitated to...and now he knew that it was all just due to genetic manipulation. His golden boy was just an idea, not truly existing.

"Rachel!" Alec called out again, pulling against Max's arms.

Normal was never one for tact and he couldn't help but ask, "Who's Rachel?"

Max bit her cheek as she thought about Rachel Berrisford. When she really thought about it, she believed that was the first time she had seen passed the Manticore facade that Alec had carefully constructed around himself and really saw him. It had been easier when she could pretend that he was just your garden-variety sociopath; watching him break down over Rachel's comatose body threw everything she thought she knew about Alec into question. He didn't leave himself open for long, by the next day he had wrapped himself with the facade so tightly that she knew it would be a while before she could penetrate it again.

"None of your business," she finally replied, not willing to air Alec's pain for the vicious consumption of those who would use it as a weapon against him later.

"It was my job, you were my job," Alec mumbled. On some level, he knew that these were just memories, his brain was trying to protect him from the pain, but he could still feel it lurking in the background. But, just because they were memories, didn't mean that they weren't tearing him apart. He was swapping physical pain for emotional...what a great swap. "I'm sorry!"

"Did he kill her?" Normal pressed on impatiently.

Max knew what he was thinking, knew that Normal thought Alec was a monster. She had thought it about him once or twice as well...but she was wrong, Normal was wrong, they were all wrong. None of them knew him, he didn't want any of them to; he had spent his entire life as a designation, taking on different personalities like a chameleon, never seeing the point in developing a personality of his own. Oh, that didn't mean he didn't have quirks that were particular to X5-494, the guards knew he would be good for a little bartering, he always followed orders, but sometimes he hedged them a bit.

Everyday he was out of Manticore, Max saw more and more of him that seemed to be real. His love of junk food, his loyalty to those he called his friends (even if he complained about it at first), even his mask was a part of who he was. Heartless murder was not on that list and she couldn't let people believe that. "He didn't kill her," she revealed quietly, "he tried to save her."

Max looked up at Normal then, her eyes hard. "Contrary to what everyone is saying, we aren't monsters. We were raised by Manticore to be soldiers, to follow their orders without question or face reindoctrination. That was if we were lucky. The unlucky ones faced termination, and that didn't come with a retirement package," she said bitterly. "My unit escaped when we were kids, growing up on the run. Others, like Alec, had to endure that for their entire lives. You can not possibly begin to understand."

She looked back down at Alec, clearly dismissing Normal and returning to her task of keeping Alec calm. Thankfully, she was too preoccupied with him to realize that her explanation to Normal had been overheard by many of the room's occupants.

As Alec groaned out, either in pain or in memory, Max didn't know how much longer she could handle it when the shrill ringing of the phone broke through. O.C. brought it to her and she quickly answered it.

"494," the negotiator greeted.

"I need milk," she said abruptly, not willing to beat around the bush while Alec was still lying prone on the ground.

"Milk?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes, milk. Get it to us in the next hour and we'll release ten hostages," Max informed him.

"I'll see what I can do and call you back," he told her, glad they were finally getting somewhere. But, what an odd demand.

Max ended the call without another word and looked up to see all of her former co-workers staring at her and Alec. "What are you looking at?" She asked defensively.

One by one they looked away or pretended to go back to sleep. O.C. walked up to her though, "Hey, Boo...why don't you take a break. I'll stay wit' your boy."

Max hesitated, it felt wrong leaving him with anyone else, but she couldn't explain why. Maybe it was because she knew he wouldn't leave her if their situations were reversed. "Nah, I'm good," she waved O.C. off.

The phone rang again and Max quickly snatched it up. "Yes?"

"We have the milk, release ten of the hostages and it will be waiting outside of the door." Unable to stop his curiosity, the negotiator asked, "What do you need the milk for?"

Max ignored his question, "Make sure it is ready, the hostages will be out in two minutes. There had better be nothing wrong with it," she added in a vague threat.

"There won't be," he promised. "It will be there, just send them out."

Max eased herself out from underneath Alec and gently settled him back on the jackets. Looking around the room, she began pointing out various people. "You, you, you," she said, picking the people who she knew the least and who had been most vocal about their hatred towards transgenics. Once she had picked ten, she lined them up in front of the door. Nodding to CeCe, she pushed them forward as CeCe opened the door and remained out of sight of any snipers that might be out there.

She waited until there was one person left to go before grabbing their arm. "You, grab the milk and set it inside."

"Bite me," the man snarled, but became contrite when Mole stormed up with his shotgun.

"Grab the damn milk or I just might," Mole threatened.

The man paled, slowly stuck his hand outside the door and grabbed a jug of milk and hurriedly tossed it to Max before spinning around and making a run for it. They could hear the clapping and cheers from the crowd as they were gathered up by waiting police.

Mole and CeCe made sure that the door was locked as Max went towards Alec with determination. She didn't bother finding a smaller container, but popped open the milk and sniffed it to make sure that it hadn't been tampered with. She even went so far as to take a quick swig of it. She was not going to give Alec anything that could make him worse. Once she was satisfied that it was pure milk, Max folded her legs underneath her again and hauled Alec's body up onto her lap.

"Alright, Alec, time for you to earn your keep," she said lightly as she attempted to get him aware enough to drink some of the milk.

She lightly slapped his cheek, "Come on, Alec. I know you're lazy, but this is ridiculous."

When she realized that he wasn't going be aware enough to help her out, she called out for O.C. "I'm gonna hold open his mouth and I need you to pour this in," she told her as she handed O.C. the milk.

O.C. nodded as she took a hold of the jug and watched Max struggle to get Alec to release his tightly clenched jaw.

"Damn it, Alec," Max ground out. "For once could you work_ with _me?"

Finally, she got his mouth open just enough for O.C. to pour some milk in. But, Alec's body had been fighting him for so long that it didn't know what to do with the liquid being forced down his throat. Rather than swallowing, Alec began coughing, trying to expel the foreign substance.

O.C. looked up in concern, waiting for Max's instructions.

"Keep pouring," Max ordered, not exactly sure if they should let up or not. When Alec's body twitched, Max's mind was made up for her. One way or the other they were getting this in him.

"Dalton!" She called out, knowing the transgenic would hear her and sure enough he came rushing down the stairs seconds after she called. She motioned to Alec's body, "I need you to hold him down, I'm going to keep his mouth open, and O.C. is going to pour the milk in."

Dalton nodded his understanding and practically laid his body over the X5's. He knew that even with Alec being down for the count, he would be difficult to keep him still due to his size. Sure enough it took all of Dalton's strength and capabilities to hold Alec as still as possible. After about half the milk had been forced down his throat and a good share had been spilt in the struggle, Max nodded for O.C. to let up.

"How long will it take for your boy to be up and runnin' again?" O.C. asked, leaning back on her heels.

Max shrugged. With how bad his seizures were, she couldn't say for sure how quickly the trytophan would take effect. She knew that in the mean time she should be planning on how to get them out of here alive, so she lowered Alec back to the ground and tried to get her mind in order.

It was about an hour before daybreak when Alec began to stir with a low moan. While the milk had not immediately helped, it had stopped him from shouting out. During the night, Gem had given birth to her baby, with help from Normal of all people. Apparently Normal found it easier to accept the newborn over the adults. When Max heard the groan, she looked over from her conversation with Mole and saw Joshua staring eagerly at Alec.

Alec panicked for a moment as he slowly broke through the grip of unconsciousness. He could not figure out why it was so difficult to open his eyes, why his body felt like it was on fire, why he was laying on the ground. But, never one to give into panic, Alec forced his eyes to open. The first sight that greeted him was the smiling face of Joshua. Uncomfortable with being out of the loop regarding his own body, Alec's roughened voice good-naturedly quipped. "Hey, Big Fella, please don't drool on me."

As he slowly blinked, his eyes still working to bring the room into focus and his brain struggling to catch up, a new face appeared above him...a decidedly more attractive face.

"Hi," he said quietly, partly due to his sore throat and partly because he didn't know what else to say. He could vaguely remember Max's voice throughout the night. He couldn't recall what she was saying, but it lacked the usual disdainful tone she had when she was talking to him.

Instead of responding, Max lifted the jug of milk she had grabbed out of the frig and brought it to Alec's lips. "Drink," she commanded as she tilted it. She waited until he started coughing before she pulled it away.

"Jeez, Max...if you wanted to kill me, you could have let the seizures do their job," Alec grumbled as he realized he couldn't even lift his own hand to wipe away the milk that had slipped past his lips. It hurt to talk, it was impossible to move...he might as well have died. What good is a soldier who couldn't fight? And judging by the fact that he was lying on the floor of Jam Pony, which was disgusting by the way, they were still in the middle of a siege.

Max leveled him with a glare, "Shut up or next time I'll let them." She didn't want to think about Alec dying, but she didn't want him to get the silly idea that she cared one way or the other. Before she could berate Alec for not taking tryptophan, Sketchy slid passed Mole and made his way over.

"Alec, my man, good to see ya in the land of the livin'," Sketchy greeted as he looked down at Alec.

Alec nodded his thanks and joked, "I do my best." Max rolled her eyes, but didn't move away as Alec caught her gaze. Max realized what he wanted within a second of catching his meaningful look and quickly hooked her hands underneath his arms.

"You sure?" She whispered close to his head, too softly for any of the Ordinaries to hear.

Alec let his breath out and nodded before quickly biting his lower lip as she hauled him into a sitting position with his back against the counter. His eyes clamped shut, he took a few experimental breaths before opening them again. It hurt like hell, but he couldn't stand lying on his back while everyone looked down at him. At least now he could see the room properly...and see all of the room's occupants staring at him and whispering under their breath. "Well...that's awkward," he drawled out as he returned his gaze to Max.

"We tried to move you, but..." she shrugged, knowing he would understand.

And he did...he just didn't have to like it. But, his embarrassment was not the top priority. "So, what's going on outside?"

"Same old, same old," Max answered in typical Max fashion. She was once again interrupted when Dalton blurred down the stairs.

"CeCe said I could come down and see how Alec was doing," Dalton explained eagerly as he approached the transgenics.

"Hey kid," Alec greeted, throwing a smile on his face even though he felt like crap and just wanted to sleep for a week.

Dalton beamed under the greeting and it was all Max could do to prevent a groan of her own. The last thing she needed was another Alec worshipper in the form of a teenage X6.

She was about to send Dalton back off to watch from the upstairs window when all of the noise in the room dropped off. "They're coming," she said suddenly, having the attention of all the transgenics.

Alec looked to CeCe and Mole who were on watch and they shrugged and signaled that no one was there. "Uh, Max..." he began.

"Shut up," she whispered harshly. "Everyone upstairs, now!" She ordered the Ordinaries and transgenics alike. "Dalton, get them into the offices upstairs and keep them down."

Max slinked over to the window that Mole had just abandon and tried to pinpoint the direction that they were coming from. In the meantime, O.C. went to help Joshua with Gem, while Sketchy was working to pull Alec to his feet.

"Dude, you need to lay off of the pork products," Sketchy grumbled as he tried to pull up Alec, who was still practically dead-weight.

Alec didn't bother to respond as his body erupted into flames. Every movement caused his muscles to scream out and it was all he could do to keep himself from following them. The strain was eased as Max gently, for her anyways, slid herself underneath his right arm and took most of his weight. Thank god for transgenic strength!

It took a bit longer for them to make it up the stairs then they were comfortable with, but they made it.

Alec balked when he realized where Max was taking him. "I'm not going to go in there with the Ordinaries," he bit out.

Max didn't bother arguing with him, just continued to pull his body towards the rooms.

"Max, stop," he ordered as he stopped all of his attempts to help them.

"Damn it, Alec," she harshly whispered. "We don't have time for this."

"I'm not sitting by while you guys take on whatever is coming," Alec argued.

"And what are you going to do?" Max asked him honestly. "You can't even stand on your own, let alone fight."

Alec growled as he realized what she said was true. But..."That doesn't matter, I'm not going to hide in there and hope that they don't get passed you."

"Yes, you are. I'm leaving you with a gun and if they get passed us, then you are going to be the only thing between them and our friends."

"No," Alec tried, he couldn't let her fight without him. But, before he continued, Joshua came back from setting Gem in the room and had picked him up. "Joshua! Put me down!"

"Sorry, Medium Fella," Joshua apologized, seemingly honestly upset for having angered Alec. "It's for own good."

Alec cursed as Joshua deposited him in the room next to Normal. He tried to fight Mole as he shoved a gun into his hands. He glared at Max as she crouched down so she was eye-level with him. "Keep them quiet and keep them safe," she ordered.

"Don't do this," Alec pleaded, grabbing a hold of her arm.

Max met his eyes for a moment before she gently grabbed his hand, squeezed it for a split-second and then pulled it off of her arm, standing up as she did.

"I'll be back soon, try to avoid getting shot this time," Max said, falling back to her typical caustic personality. She didn't know if they were going to get out of this, but if they did, she didn't want to have to explain any mushy things that slipped out.

"Max!" Alec softly called out before she went around the doorway. She hesitated, her head tilting towards Alec to signal that she was listening. "Make sure you come back."

Max didn't reply as she strode around the corner, but she knew that she was now going to do her best to fulfill his demand.

* * *

Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Sorry this took a bit longer than the last chapter, I had trouble figuring out exactly how I wanted it to go. This is the last chapter of this story and I wanted to let you all know I have had fun playing in the DA world for a while!

Enjoy and please let me know what you think!

* * *

Alec glanced around the unused office, unwilling to let his pain prevent him from doing his job. It certainly wasn't an ideal place to plan a defense; there were windows surrounding almost the entire upper portion of the room on the hallway wall and the only cover was in the form of an overturned desk and a bookcase...not exactly the safest place to be in during a fight. Knowing it was the best he had to work with, Alec motioned for Dalton to come over.

Silently climbing over the legs of the Jam Pony workers, Dalton crouched down next to Alec, "Yeah?"

"I need you to get everybody up against that wall," Alec ordered, falling into the role of the leader he had been trained to be. "Tell them all to be quiet and we will get through this. Come back when they are settled."

Alec checked the clip of his gun while Dalton followed his orders. "Wow, Max," Alec mumbled as he counted three bullets, "I feel _so _much better now that I have this."

When he glanced up, he noticed that Dalton had gotten everyone in place and was making his way back over.

"Okay," Alec said softly as Dalton got back down. "You're X6 right? How good are you with guns?"

Dalton let out a small, self-satisfied grin, "Best in my unit."

"Good," Alec replied, thankful that something was finally going in their favor. Flipping the gun around, he handed it to Dalton butt first. "Take cover behind the desk, if anyone makes it passed me, take them out."

Dalton fought the urge to confirm with a 'yes, sir!' and settled for nodding. But it didn't take long for his thoughts to catch up with his instinct to obey orders. "But, what about you?"

"Just be ready," Alec told him, ignoring the X6's question.

He couldn't let it drop though, "Alec, you should have the gun."

"I'll be fine," Alec assured him. "Now, get into position and keep quiet."

* * *

The air was heavy. Suffocating like a blanket of humidity on a hot summer's night. It felt wrong to even breathe in the silence that permeated the room.

Alec took the time to stretch out his muscles the best he could, preparing himself in case they (whoever they were) made it in. He was mid-stretch when he could tell that the building had been breached; the hairs on the back of his neck rose and every fight instinct in his body fired to life. He forced himself to take deep, quiet breaths. A soldier who held his breath before attacking was a slow soldier. His muscles needed oxygen, freezing would not help anyone and as he glanced over at the nine or so remaining Jam Pony workers, he knew that he _wanted_ to get them out alive, no matter the cost.

Using his transgenic hearing, Alec heard the whisper-soft footfalls of the enemy; so quiet they would have gone unnoticed if he hadn't been waiting for it. He sent a hand signal to Dalton, informing him of the arrival, just in case he missed it.

He counted to eight before the sounds of a fight broke out. Every instinct in his body urged him to join the fight, told him to ignore his aching body. He wanted to be out there, needed to be out there protecting his friends. But, he had his orders, knew his friends in here needed his protection. That didn't stop his body from getting the surge of adrenaline that accompanied a fight. As the adrenaline coursed through his body, Alec felt some of the pain disappear. He knew it wasn't gone, he was still injured and he would feel worse come tomorrow, but for now it would do. And, even though the pain was in the background now, Alec remained in his spot on the ground, in plain sight of the door.

Smashes and grunts, yells and punches...the sound effects of the fight made their way into the office. With every noise, the Jam Pony workers would flinch, some even letting out small gasps or stifled yells., quieting when Gem hushed them or sent a glare their way.

All of the transgenics in the office could tell that the fight was leaning towards one faction, but they couldn't figure out which side was coming out on top. They didn't need to wait for long because no longer trying to be sneaky, Alec clearly heard the loud clomp of boot-clad feet making their way down the small hallway.

Alec was prepared to see the face of an unknown soldier come around the corner. However, the soldier was not prepared to see Alec sitting on the ground in front of him, completely weaponless.

"Well, 494," the soldier drawled, "this is a pleasant surprise. I thought you were already dead. However, killing you is going to be fun."

"I'm glad I can provide some entertainment. Although, I really think you should consider changing your meaning of fun. I mean, you could go to a bar, get a hooker, better yet, go to a strip club and have both." Alec informed with a light smile, the dangerous glint in his eyes giving his true nature away. He didn't show it, but it was unnerving that the soldier was comfortable enough with how the fight was going to stand around and make small talk. "Listen, I don't want to hurt you, you should really consider walking back on out of here."

The soldier bit out a laugh, "They said you were a talker. I would have thought a man like you would have his own best-interests in mind, but here you are, about to die for some pathetic bike messengers," the soldier sounded disgusted as he walked into the room.

"Friends," Alec correct firmly, watching for his best chance. "I'm here because they are my friends."

Larry, Alec's nickname for the soldier, scoffed, "They hate you. You will never be their friend." He was about four feet from Alec and had leveled his gun on him when Gem's baby let out a whimper, causing just a second of distraction...more than enough for Alec.

Alec didn't hesitate as he swept his leg around, knocking Larry onto the ground. Lunging forward, Alec swung a tightly clenched first at the soldier, feeling a sense of satisfaction as it met his face with a sickening crunch. Blood began pouring from Larry's nose, but he was not some shmuck in a bar fight, he was a well-trained soldier and he brought up his knee and rammed it into Alec's ribs.

Alec grunted as his momentum from his punch was used against him and he was knocked to the ground.

Dalton gripped the gun tighter, wanting to end the fight, but unable to get a clean shot. Meanwhile, Sketchy scrambled out of the way as Alec rolled through the fall and pulled Larry underneath him. He slammed another fist into his face and lifted his head up, only to slam it back into the ground.

Alec was about to knock Larry unconscious when the loud bang of a gun stopped him. As his head whipped around, Alec saw a new soldier charging towards a startled looking Dalton. The new soldier's nickname? Worm-food.

Dalton scrambled to aim the gun again. His first shot had missed the newcomer by a mile. Shooting a moving person was far different than anything he had done at Manticore. The adrenaline, the fear...it had made his aim off. He couldn't think as the soldier rushed him, but he didn't have to worry about him because suddenly the soldier was tackled off course in a blur of bodies.

Once Alec noticed the trouble the kid was in, he quickly abandoned his mission to beat Larry into unconsciousness, shoved him to the ground, and ran headlong into Worm-food. He took no heed of his own state, just focused on keeping the soldier away from the young X6. The tangled duo crashed into the opposite walls and with a splintering sound, cracked some of the wooden panels.

After the tackle, Worm-food got the upper-hand first and began to repeatedly slam his fist into Alec's face. Blindly fumbling around, Alec's fingers searched until they found a loose board. Swinging it, Alec caught Worm-food upside the head and pushed him off. Before he had the chance to push his advantage, a blinding pain shot through his arm.

Worm-food was gripping Alec's shoulder tightly, his thumb digging into the still open bullet wound.

"Ah!" Alec involuntarily cried out as the thumb went passed Dalton's earlier bandage.

Speaking of Dalton, the boy was still frozen. He couldn't remember what to do. He was still in training when Manticore was taken down, he'd never been field tested before, and he was entirely out of his depth.

Teeth grinding together, Alec focused on prying Worm-food's hand away. Once he got it far enough off of him, Alec pulled his legs to his chest and kicked the soldier off of him.

"Dalton!" He shouted, trying to catch the attention of the X6. "Gun!"

Dalton shook his head to clear it and wordlessly tossed the weapon to Alec.

Unlike Dalton, Alec wasn't going to hesitate to pull the trigger. It took him less than a second to aim the gun at Worm-food when a shout stopped him.

"494! I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Larry had gotten up from the ground while Alec had been preoccupied with Worm-food. Alec immediately adjusted his aim to Larry.

"I think you should probably drop that," Larry suggested, pressing his gun against the side of O.C.'s head. "Drop it and we'll just kill you. We'll leave them alive."

"Now, why don't I believe you?" Alec questioned, his gun not wavering.

"Doesn't matter if you believe me or not," Larry told him, the sounds of the fighting still echoing down the hallway. "Put it down or I decorate the walls with her brain."

Alec blinked, aware that Worm-food was getting back to his feet. "She isn't involved in this, let her go," he negotiated.

"She's your _friend_," Larry mocked, pressing the gun tighter against her head. "You made her involved. Now, put down the gun!"

Alec bit the inside of his cheek in anger, knowing he didn't have very many options and that these soldiers would not hesitate to kill civilians. Sighing, Alec began to lower his gun, waiting until a smirk appeared on Larry's face before suddenly throwing his gun at Larry with a, "think fast!"

Surprised by the sudden move, Larry didn't react fast enough as Alec blurred towards him and simultaneously yanked Larry into an arm-bar and pushed O.C. out of the line of fire. Spinning him around, Alec held onto Larry's body as it was peppered with bullets from Worm-food's gun.

The moment after Larry's body jerked with the last bullet, Worm-food dropped to the ground, a bullet hole between his eyes, before he really registered that he had just shot his brother in arms.

Silence. After all the symphony of noises that had been going on for the past five minutes, there was nothing. Nothing, but the sound of Alec letting Larry's body drop to the ground. "O.C.? Dalton? You guys good?" Alec asked, his eyes scanning for any threats.

Both of them nodded, and then realized he wasn't looking at them and chimed in with, "Yeah" and "Uh huh."

Meanwhile, Normal blinked in confusion. Theoretically, he knew that Alec was a soldier, knew he was a fighter. Hell, he had seen him fight in the ring at least a dozen times. He had been talking for months about how transgenics were dangerous, how Manticore had trained them to be weapons. But this...this calculated machine, that he hadn't been counting on. However, as Alec used the first soldier as a human shield, only to rip the gun he had threatened Original Cindy with out of his hands and calmly send a single bullet through the second soldier's head, Normal was forced to honestly face what Alec was, what they all were.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Alec could feel them all staring at him, judging him for what he just did. Did he regret it? Well, he regretted that it had to happen, but if he had to do it over again, the only thing he would change would be to kill Larry sooner. No one threatened his friends. But, at the moment, he had more important matters, like the fight that was going on outside of the room.

The noise hadn't just stopped in the office, it had stopped everywhere, with no indication about who had won. Judging by the fact that a bunch of soldiers hadn't burst in and shot up the place, Alec was betting on a win for his team, but he didn't want to be mistaken. So, when a body suddenly appeared in the doorway, Larry's former gun was instantly trained on it.

"Alec, it's me," Max's voice immediately called out.

Alec lowered the weapon as Max stepped into the room. "We won?" He asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Yeah," Max informed him as Mole, Joshua and CeCe joined them. "We still have to get out of here, but I have an idea."

"Good," Alec nodded. "That's good."

"Okay, so the plan is..." Max began, but was interrupted.

"Uh...Max...I think I need to sit down," Alec informed her, halfway to the ground before she slowed his descent.

"Alec?" Max questioned worriedly as she made sure he could sit up on his own, her hand staying on his back for a second longer than was probably necessary.

"I'm fine," he breathed out. Now that the fighting was done, his body had seen no need for that whole standing business, but he didn't think he was going to pass out any time soon. "I just like the view from down here better."

"Geez, Princess," Mole taunted, "Can't keep you on your feet for ten minutes these days. What do you expect us to do, carry you?"

"I'd rather sit around here and wait for White than be in your arms, Mole," Alec replied with a shudder.

"We should leave," Joshua reminded them.

"Yeah, Big Fella, I know," Max assured him. "So, here's my plan."

* * *

"Okay, seriously!?" Max could clearly hear the indignation in Alec's voice. As she glanced over to see what had caused it, she couldn't help the slight chuckled that escaped.

"This isn't funny!" Alec claimed as he struggled against Joshua's hold on him. "Joshua, put me down!"

"Alec needs rest," Joshua argued, not releasing his hold on the squirming X5.

"Alec needs you to put him down," Alec countered. "I can walk just fine."

Max wasn't so sure about that, the police had just vacated Terminal City. Her plan to get them out of Jam Pony had required Alec to get himself down to the vehicles, a feat which he barely managed. She didn't know if he would be able to make it all the way to the Terminal City's command center on his own. However, she could empathize with Alec at the moment; he had spent the previous night in the clutches of seizures, he had been put at the kid's table during the big fight, he had been unable to remain standing once the fight was done, and now he had Joshua carrying him around like he was completely incapacitated. It was too many blows to his pride and to his armor than he could take in a twenty-four hour period.

"Hey, Big Fella, set him down, he'll be alright," Max told the large transhuman.

"But," Joshua started.

"I'll make sure he gets up there and gets looked at by one of the doctors," Max promised. Terminal City had become a large hodgepodge of former Manticorians. Thankfully, some of them had worked in the medical division. She had a feeling that they were going to need them even more now.

Alec nearly sighed in relief as Joshua set him down. When his feet touched the ground, Alec forced himself to remain upright, not wanting to give Josh any more ideas about carrying him around.

"Max and Alec good?" Joshua asked them.

"Yeah, we're good, Big Fella," Max answered for them, afraid that in his agitated state, Alec would say something rude. "Why don't you head on up and we will be there soon."

Joshua glanced between the two of them, finally turning around when he was sure that they would be okay.

Once Joshua turned the corner, Max and Alec were alone. Max snuck a peek over at Alec, trying to judge how he was doing, knowing that she would get nothing but, "I'm fine" out of him. He was pale and a little shaky, but considering everything, he looked like he was doing better than most would be.

"Come on," Max said briskly, "let's get you settled before you fall asleep here."

"I dunno," Alec joked, "doesn't look half bad, I'm sure I've slept in worse places."

Max's lips involuntarily quirked before she remembered to tighten them. "Any day now," she motioned in front of her for Alec to start walking.

Alec rolled his eyes as Max almost let her guard down, but slammed the door shut at the last moment. He was not the best at letting people in, he knew that. However, the quips and humor...they weren't all a mask, they were also a part of his personality. Max on the other hand, could rival a top secret military base for how much information she let slip about herself. "Yes, ma'am."

They made it about one block before Alec began to slow down. His breathing becoming shallower, his movements looking more like he had just left a bar. Finally, after a block and a half, he leaned against the wall of an old pharmacy and shook his head miserably. "Go on without me, I am just going to curl up and die here."

"You're not going to die," Max said in exasperation. "I'm not that lucky."

It was a joke...a tasteless joke, but a joke nonetheless. They both knew that Max had thrown it out there because she was always saying stuff like that. This time though, Alec didn't counter it with one of his own, but just tilted his head to the side and examined her.

For a solid thirty seconds, neither spoke. Max shifted under the scrutiny that was coming from Alec and was relieved when he finally spoke...well, she thought she was going to be relieved. "You almost were," he said softly.

He was planning on judging her reaction, seeing what she thought about the fact that he really did come close to kicking the bucket...and then he chickened out. "Just think of it, Maxie," he said, pushing himself off of the wall and starting to walk down the street again, "a world without Alec. Bet it sounds wonderful, huh?"

_Emotionally stunted_, Alec thought. Good ol'Manticore. An army of super soldiers who couldn't handle the day to day emotions of ordinary humans. An army who hid behind sharp barbs and innuendos, carefully selected words and faked derision.

"Sounds quiet," Max gave as her answer.

Alec made it another half a block before he stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. He was expecting to face-plant it when he was caught around the middle by Max's deceptively strong arms. "Thanks," he told her, thinking she would move away now that he wasn't falling over. She surprised him when she directed his right arm around her shoulders and kept her left wrapped around his waist.

"I'm tired of catching you, this is just easier," she explained and began walking again.

Nodding his understanding, Alec tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other and not on the fact that Max was once again willingly touching him. It was odd...not unpleasant, just odd.

As they neared the command center, Max broke the fairly comfortable silence that had grown between them. "I think it would probably be too quiet."

Not wanting to give Alec a chance to question her further on what she meant, Max slid out from underneath his arm, made sure he was standing on his own and then flew into the command center, leaving Alec to make his own way in.

Alec stared blankly at the door that Max had just disappeared behind before his lips quirked upward. "She'd totally miss me," he gleefully revealed to thin air.

As he made his way to see one of the medical staff, Alec couldn't stop the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, the one that made him want to just keep smiling like an insane person. He knew that Max was still Max and he was still Alec...but he couldn't help thinking that something had changed in the past twenty-four hours, something that felt right.

* * *

"Monsters? No, no more than you and me," Normal answered the reporter honestly. When he had realized that he needed to face what Alec and the others were, he knew that the answer had been clear all along. They were people, friends, family, coworkers...some were good, some were bad, some had an incredibly large moral grey area. But, wasn't that the same for full-blooded humans? It wasn't their fault they were born the way they were; they had no choice in the matter. However, their decisions afterwards, those were the important things. They had to fight against years of training, brainwashing, and god knows what else. Alec, Max, and all the others like them had shown, at least to him, that having a barcode didn't make them evil, it made it that much more special when they truly put themselves out there to care.

...And god protect you if you threaten someone they care about.


End file.
